Electric pushbutton



April 24, 1951 Filed May 6, 1949 W. HUPPERT ELECTRIC PUSHBUTTON 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. H/mL/A/n HUPPEKT 4rrdmvi/ April 24, 1951 w. HUPPERT 2,550,250

ELECTRIC PUSHBUTTON Filed May 6, 1949 r 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 5 fi 7%;

'AliLlfill! LP-"1 AI- INVENTOR. IUL'SEl-V, MLLIAM HUVPEKT BY v 3/ 25 W Patented Apr. 24, 1951 ELECTRIC PUSHBUITON William Hupper-tQNew York-N. Y.; RuthJE.

v.Hupperi:rexe'cutrix '01 said William .;Huppert,

deceased "Applic'ationMay 6, 194'9,Serial No."9"1,685

i=3 Claims. (0142004159) 'This'inverition relates'to an improve'd push button .for openin "or closing-an electric circuit.

One object "Of thednvention is toprovide an electric push button in which all of thebperative parts are (fixed "to the casing '"so that the entire push button may be "attached in placeor detachedas a'uni't.

Another object isto provide a push button of simple design consisting "offewparts.

A further object .is to provide a construction that is inexpensive to'man'ufacture and easy to assemble.

A still further object is to provide a push buttonth-at is 'ofdurable construction and efficient in operation.

Theseraswellas other objects and advantages will Joe-evident to those skilled in the art from the "following description,'reference being had to .the accompanying drawings inwhich;

' Fig. l is an exploded perspective view of the parts ofthe pushbu'tton;

'Fig.2 '15 Va "top or frontplanview of the push button;

Fig. '3 is a bottom or rear'j'plan view thereof;

"Fig. 4 is alongitudinal'vertical section onthe line 4-4 of Fig. 2, showing the contact fingers in open circuit position;

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the contact fingers in closed circuit position;

Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical section on the line 66 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a transverse vertical section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 8 is a transverse vertical section on the line 88 of Fig. 5.

In Figs. 4 through 8 of the drawings the push button is shown on an enlarged scale for the sake of clarity of illustration.

The casing I is hollow and is preferably made of molded plastic, but it may be made of other suitable material and of any desired design, style, or size. In the particular embodiment shown the casing is molded with four interior side ribs ll and'with two end cavities l2 that are connected with recesses I3, which recesses each have a sloping wall M. The purpose of these structural features will be hereinafter explained. Two screw holes l are provided for the screws (not shown) that attach the casing to its support. The top of the casing has an opening I6 through which the push button proper I! projects.

v The push button I! is also preferably made of molded plastic. As best seen in Figs. 4 and 5 it may be made hollow for the sake of lightness and economy of material, with a transverse interior strengthening *ri-b 18, and it'ha flanges I 9 along its'outer lateral edges that engage the inner surface ofthe-casingabout the opening l6 to=prevent separation of the button from the casing wh'enthe parts are in assembled-state.

20 indicates a closure plate of fiber board or other suitable non-conductor substance. The plate ha oppositely 'faced extensions '2 l at its two ends, and apertures 22, which apertures-as shown in Fig. 1 may each be ofkey-holeashapehaving a portion with parallel sides that leads into a circular or round'p'ortion. The plate serves as a mountingfor "the two contact'members 23.

Each contact member has a terminal portion '24 and 'a spring 'finger '25 connected with the ter- :minal portion and extending in a plane offset from the plane'of the'latter. 'Th'eiportion 26 that connectsthe finger to the terminal has'an "edge 21 that abuts againstthe companion edge 28 of the closure plate extension 2| and serves as one means for properly and easily locating the con- "tact member relatively to the plate. The outer or free end of thespring' finger'may be formed with a substantially right-angled armjpor'tion29. "The center 'ofthe "terminal portion 24 may be stamped or swaged to form a screw-pitch 30 for engagement with the thread of the terminal screw 3|. The terminal portion 24 has at one end a bent lip 32 adapted to fit into the aperture 22 between the parallel sided portion thereof, and at the other end a bent portion 33 provided with two diverging anchoring prongs 34.

In assembly, the two contact members are mounted on the closure plate with the plate coming between the terminal and spring finger portions of each, as best seen in Figs. 4 and 5. The lip 32 fits into the parallel sided portion of aperture 22 to hold the contact member against displacement or movement. The plate-contact member assembly is then placed in the hollow of the casing with the marginal edges of the plate supported or resting on the ends of the ribs H, and with the bent portion 33 of the terminal, together with its prongs 34, inserted in the cavities l2. Pressure is then applied on the terminal portion above the prong so as to cause the latter to spread apart so as to engage or bite into side walls of the cavity, as seen in Fig. 8, and thus firmly anchor the plate-contact member assembly to the casing. With this construction the casing and the plate-contact member assembly can be handled, applied to or detached from a support, as a unit. The recesses I3 permit of visual inspection to see that the prongs have been properly anchored in place. The terminal screws 3 I may be applied either before or after the platecontact member assembly has been attached to the casing.

The two contact members 23-23 are preferably counterparts, each of which may be made in one integral piece by shearing and bending it to the desired form from a fiat blank or strip of brass or other suitable conductor material.

In assembly, the two contact members are mounted on the plate 20 in reverse positions with their terminal portions 24 seated on the rear or outer face of the plate and the spring finger portions 25 extending upward of its front or inner face, and with the connectin portion 26 of each contact member fitting about an end of the plate.

Normally the two spring fingers 25 are out of contact with each other, as in Figs. 4 and 6, but on depressing the button I! the arm 29 of one spring finger will be pressed into contact with the portion 26 of the other, as seen in Figs. and 7, thus closing the electric circuit of which the push button is a part, or in which it is used.

The plate-contact members assembly results in producing a finished article that is simple to manufacture and that is of reduced height as compared with the various types of push buttons now commonly in use.

Various modifications in the details of the construction hereinbefore described may be made within the scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. An electric push button comprising a hollow casing open at the bottom and having an opening through the top, a push button projecting through the top opening, a flat plate closing the bottom opening, and a pair of contact members assembled with and mounted on the plate, each contact member having a spring finger portion extending over the inner face of the plate slightly offset therefrom to engage the push button and a terminal portion seated on the outer face of said plate, the contact members having selfcontained means for anchoring the plate-contact members assembly to the casing.

2. An electric push button comprising a hol- 4 low casing open at the bottom and having an opening through the top, a push button projecting through the top opening, a fiat plate having substantially parallel top and bottom faces closing the bottom opening, a pair of contact members assembled with and mounted on the plate, each contact member having a spring finger portion extending lengthwise over and spaced from the top face of the plate, a terminal portion mounted on the bottom face of the plate, and an- ,choring prongs that enter into and engage in the walls of a preformed cavity in the casing to secure the plate-contact members assembly to the casing.

3. An electric push button comprising a hollow casing open at the bottom and having an opening through the top, a push button projecting through the top opening, a flat plate closing the bottom opening, said plate having oppositely faced extensions at its ends and openings intermediate its ends, a pair of contact members assembled with and mounted on said plate, each contact member having a spring finger portion, a terminal portion, and a connecting portion having an edge that abuts against an edge of the plate extension, the terminal portion having a lip that enters into the opening in the plate, and

I integral means on each contact member for anchoring the plate-contact members assembly to the casing.

WILLIAM HUPPERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 539,079 Oehring May 14, 1895 730,567 Plassmann June 9, 1903 1,531,605 Gaynor Mar. 31, 1925 1,934,470 Kempton Nov. 7, 1933 1,949,806 Miller Mar. 6, 1934 1,992,806 Benander Feb. 26, 1935 2,418,005 Baker et al. Mar. 25, 1947 

